Really, they do. But don’t take it personally – they hate everybody.
Think I’m crazy? Well, I’m not. If they like you so much, why haven’t they released “Hero” in the US yet?Never even heard of it, have you?
You’ve heard of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” right? “Hero” is a similar style of movie. It’s a magical kung-fu epic that taxes place in long-ago China.
Beautiful cinematography, great fight choreography, a good story (with a plot and everything!), great cast – Jet Li, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, and Donnie Yen, to name a few – wonderful acting….You get the idea.
So what does this movie have to do with Miramax hating you? Well, it came out two years ago. Since then it’s made over $100,000,000 worldwide. Pretty good considering it only cost $30,000,000 to make and it’s not an effects-driven Hollywood crap-fest. After it came out, Miramax snapped up the US rights to it and has been sitting on it ever since. I’m not sure why. Maybe they’re worried it’ll make their own offerings look bad. (It will.) Maybe they don’t want American audiences going elsewhere for their entertainment. (Not likely to happen.) Perhaps they don’t want too many Asian movies coming to the US at the same time.
Movies like this are the reason DVDs (and DVD players) have region codes on them. “Hero” has been out in DVD for quite some time in Asia. Legal DVD, too. Not just bootleg. I rented it yesterday and was very impressed. It’s a great movie to get lost in. Maybe someday you’ll get to see it….
Rant update: It’s supposedly getting released this April in the US. I’m surprised at that, since Miramax already has Zatoichi (from Japan) lined up for June. Funny how they’re putting both of these out after Kill Bill vol. 2 has come and gone. Wait, no it isn’t.Anyways, in case they actually do release it this year, here’s the poster to keep an eye out for:
That’s the Korean version, but it’s pretty close to how most versions I’ve seen look. They’ll probably screw that up too.
Fucking Miramax…..*mumblegrumble*